Eumundi Quandong Tree

The Eumundi Quandong (Elaeocarpus eumundi) is the answer when you need serious height along a boundary but have almost no width to give it. This Australian native reaches about 8m tall and only 3m wide, holding a naturally upright columnar shape with no training. New growth flushes bronze and copper against the dark glossy mature leaves, so the tree changes colour several times a year without dropping its cover.

Why you'll love it

• Tall and narrow by nature. Roughly 8m of height in a 3m footprint, which is what a narrow side boundary needs.
• Bronze new growth. Each flush arrives coppery before hardening to deep glossy green, giving seasonal movement other screening plants lack.
• Roots that will not lift your paving. Non-invasive roots make it one of the few trees this tall that suits a fence line or a driveway.
• Native, and the birds find it. Small cream flowers, then blue fruit that draws native birds through the warmer months.
• It handles difficult ground. Wet feet tolerant, humidity tolerant and salt tolerant, so damp corners and coastal blocks are no obstacle.

Where it works best

Tall screening and hedging. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row for a dense screen well above fence height, in a bed under two metres wide. It takes trimming well and holds anywhere from three metres upward without going bare at the base.

Driveways and feature planting. A matched row either side of a drive, spaced 3m or more, gives an avenue effect without the canopy spreading over the cars. A single tree gives a courtyard real vertical scale.

Growing the Eumundi Quandong in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the densest screen, or part shade where it grows more open. This is a tropical, subtropical and warm temperate tree, at home from far north Queensland through the Northern Rivers to Sydney and across to coastal Western Australia. It takes light frost only, so the tablelands, Canberra, Melbourne and Tasmania sit outside its range.

Soil. Not fussy, and unusually for a rainforest tree it takes wet feet, so a damp low spot is workable. Improve sandy soil with compost and mulch 75mm deep, clear of the trunk.

Water, feed and prune. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper back. A controlled release native fertiliser in early spring and late summer keeps the flushes coming. Tip prune from planting to thicken the lower growth, then trim after each bronze flush hardens off, usually twice a year.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown from tubes and 300mm pots up through 400mm, then 45L, 70L, 100L, 200L, 300L and 400L. Tubes and 300mm plants are the sensible choice for a long boundary run, since you need a tree every 1.5m, and they close the screen in three to four seasons. From 200L up the trees arrive with several metres of height already on them.

Young plants look like slim single stemmed whips, which is correct here: the branching develops once the trunk gains height. Expect a bronze flush within six to eight weeks of planting in warm weather. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every tree carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare hedging and screening plants
• Browse the Australian native range
• Preparing a garden bed before planting a screen

Common questions

How far apart should I plant them for a screen?

One and a half metres apart in a single row. Any tighter and you are paying for trees that only compete with each other, because the narrow crowns fill in reliably at that spacing.

How tall will it get in a suburban garden?

About 8m over time, with a spread of around 3m. Older references quoting 15m describe mature specimens in rainforest, not a home garden.

Can I keep it lower than 8m?

Yes. Trimming the leader holds it wherever you want, and four to five metres is a common working height for a boundary screen.